ORLANDO – After last week’s defensive debacle, after those two consecutive losses when the Knicks gave up 123 points and 114 points to Dallas and Boston, respectively, Isiah Thomas chewed out Stephon Marbury, telling him to step up his defense.

Marbury and Thomas have an open relationship where brutal conversations take place often. And this one hit home.

“He watches the game from afar but very close,” Marbury said after the Knicks won their second straight in beating Orlando 119-111 last night. “He told me I wasn’t playing any defense. I was one of the worst defensive guards.”

Marbury was laughing as he retold the story. “That’s usually how our conversations go,” Marbury said. “When he praises you, he praises you to the highest. But I felt I needed to hear that. I kind of felt I wasn’t playing the way I can defensivly. I’m a way better defensive guard than what I was showing.”

Marbury gave a better showing the past two games and outplayed Steve Francis last night.

*

Jamal Crawford could be back sooner than Penny Hardaway, who has been out since Dec. 4 with a partial tear of the right hamstring.

Hardaway suffered a big setback on Christmas Day when he attempted to run fullcourt and felt too much pain. Knick doctors have shut Hardaway down for the time being, erasing any chance of him suiting up next week.

Hardaway still doesn’t know when he’ll be allowed to run again, much less be back in the lineup. On Christmas Eve, he returned to practice and did halfcourt drills with the team.

“The next day I tried to run fullcourt and I couldn’t, so I had to back off,” he said. “The halfcourt I didn’t have to open up, jogging through some offenses. I felt OK. Once I had to speed up, I couldn’t do it. The doctors wanted me to back off a little.”

*

Allan Houston banged his left knee against an Orlando player, felt pain and took himself out midway through the third but returned. . . .

Latrell Sprewell is back from a sore ankle and is expected to be available tomorrow when the Wolves hit the Garden. Last December, he was fined $25,000 by the league for shouting obscenities at Knicks owner James Dolan, Dolan’s wife and the Knicks bench.

Earlier this month, Sprewell was suspended one game when a TV mike picked up a sexual profanity he screamed at a female fan.

Tomorrow, Sprewell will not have Dolan to pick on. The Dolans are on a family holiday vacation.